The Las Vegas Raiders have one of the youngest rosters in the league during the 2025 NFL season. Almost half of the players currently sitting atop or at second-string on the depth chart are in their first two professional seasons, and a handful more are merely in Year 3 or still on rookie contracts.
Of course, this hasn't bred much success, but at least some young players are getting experience. At cornerback, third-year player Kyu Blu Kelly and rookie Darien Porter have been splitting reps opposite Eric Stokes, and undrafted rookie Greedy Vance Jr. has found a role in the slot.
But 2024 fourth-round pick Decamerion Richardson, after having a strong training camp, has failed to find a role for the Raiders' defense. In fact, he has yet to play a single defensive snap this year, as his duties have exclusively pertained to special teams under head coach Pete Carroll.
Decamerion Richardson must show signs of life after Kyu Blu Kelly injury
In Week 14, however, Kelly suffered a serious injury, which turned out to be a torn patellar tendon. He'll miss the remainder of the campaign, and he could easily be sidelined for much longer than that. Porter is a shoo-in to be the starter and should eat up the bulk of the reps in Kelly's absence.
But Kelly's injury, as unfortunate as it is, has given Richardson a bit of new life in the cornerback room. As it stands now, Las Vegas only has three players on the roster who can play out wide at cornerback, and Richardson is one of them.
Although he hasn't played at all this year, Richardson does have some experience to draw from, as injuries threw him into the fire last season. Richardson ended up playing nearly 600 defensive snaps in 2024, and despite some positive results, he wasn't given a chance to build off that in 2025.
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Las Vegas will have to make a corresponding roster move when they inevitably place Kelly on the Injured Reserve, and it would not be a shock at all to see them add a cornerback from outside the building. But Richardson should still have the upper hand to get some reps in the meantime.
If Richardson can't even get on the field in circumstances like this, then serious questions about his future with the Silver and Black must be asked. That is not an indictment of his abilities, but a mere observation about what happens when a new regime comes in and doesn't value a holdover player.
Hopefully, Richardson gets a fair shake at some playing time and makes the most of it, proving that he can be a valuable building block in the secondary for years to come. If he doesn't, or if he fails to even get an opportunity, then the writing may be on the wall.
But Kelly's being out for the year means new life for Richardson, no matter how you slice it.